Chocolate

Basic Chocolate Glaze

Name: Basic Chocolate Glaze
Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups glaze (enough for about 12 pastries or one 8 or 9 inch drippy cake)
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups (227 g) chopped dark chocolate (I use 60%); 3/4 cup (181 g) heavy cream; Note: For milk chocolate glaze, use ½ cup (121 g) heavy cream. For white chocolate glaze, use 1/3 cup (80 g) heavy cream.

by: Erin Jeanne McDowell

May 14, 2021

6 Ratings

Photo by Ren Fuller

Makes about 1 1/2 cups glaze (enough for about 12 pastries or one 8 or 9 inch drippy cake)

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Author Notes

This is my go-to chocolate glaze. Because dark, milk, and white chocolate all have different consistencies, the amount of cream added needs to be adjusted for each variety to maintain a glaze-y consistency. It's perfect for glazing everything from cream puffs to cookies to layer cakes—and makes killer drips (see the full article on Drip Consistencies, below). Recipe from my book, The Fearless Baker.

Featured in: Drip Consistencies 101. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

Test Kitchen Notes

Bake It Up a Notch is a column by Resident Baking BFF Erin Jeanne McDowell. Each month, she'll help take our baking game to the next level, teaching us all the need-to-know tips and techniques and showing us all the mistakes we might make along the way. Today, a very sweet lesson in all things frostings, icings, and glazes. —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

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Basic Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients

1 ¹/₂ cups (227 g) chopped dark chocolate (I use 60%)
³/₄ cup (181 g) heavy cream
Note: For milk chocolate glaze, use ½ cup (121 g) heavy cream. For white chocolate glaze, use 1/3 cup (80 g) heavy cream.

Directions

Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 15 seconds undisturbed, then stir, beginning in the center of the bowl with small circular motions and widening the circles until the ingredients are uniformly combined and the ganache is smooth.
Let the ganache cool slightly before using. If you make it ahead, you’ll need to gently warm the ganache (over a double-boiler is best).

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I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

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1 Review

DOUGHNUTSAREMYJAM November 16, 2020

I followed the directions and watched the video and bought 8inch pans and my oven is a mess of batter. I hope to be able to save the cake though. will hold off making the filling until the cake is done in the oven.